In 1956 the Soviet Union shocked the world by
sending troops to overthrow the government of Hungary. A similar invasion of
Czechoslovakia took place in 1968.

The Hungarians were a proud nation with a
strong sense of identity. Before 1918 they played a key part in the running of
the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire. Hungarian nationalists did not like being
part of a Soviet Empire after the Second World War.

Stalin's actions increased anti-Soviet
feelings in Hungary. Free elections were held in November 1945. The communists
got less than 20 percent of the vote. Stalin ignored the decision of the
Hungarian people and imposed a government on the country in which communists
had many of the most important posts.

In August 1947 another election was held in
Hungary. This time the Soviet Union made sure that the election was rigged so
that the communists won. Between 1949 and 1953 Hungary was badly treated by
Stalin. Opponents of Soviet power were dealt with ruthlessly.

In 1949 the leader of the Roman Catholic
Church in Hungary, Cardinal Mindszenty was sentenced to life imprisonment. Even
Hungarian communists were attacked if they showed any signs of disagreeing with
Stalin. The leading communist. Laszlo Radk, was put on trial and hanged in 1949
because he was too independent-minded.

After Stalin

The death of Stalin in 1953 created a new
uncertain situation in Eastern Europe. During the Stalinist years, Hungary had
been ruled with considerable brutality by Matyas Rakosi. Rakosi managed to hang
on to power after 1953, but he was forced to invite a reformer called Imre Nagy
to join his government. The two men got on badly and in 1955 Rakosi got the
upper hand and threw Nagy out of the government and the party.

Hungarians were not sure how far the new
Soviet leadership would allow Hungary to operate as an independent country. For
a number of reasons Hungarians hoped that they might be able to have greater
independence:

• The new Soviet leadership was friendly to
Tito's Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia had successfully broken away from Soviet control
in 1948. People in Hungary thought that other countries could now follow the
Yugoslav path.

• Stalin was criticized by the new Soviet
leader, Khrushchev, in a famous speech in February 1956. Hungarians hoped that
Khrushchev would be very different from Stalin and would be happy with a new,
independent Hungary.

• In June 1956 there were anti-Soviet
demonstrations in Poland. Khrushchev looked for a compromise. He allowed
reforms and he appointed Gomulka, a man who had been imprisoned by Stalin, as
the new leader of the Polish Communist Party.

The news from Poland seemed like further proof
that the bad old days of Soviet control were over. In fact this was a mistake:
the new Soviet leaders still wanted to control the countries of the Warsaw
Pact. Hungarians listened to radio broadcasts from the West that criticized
communism. Some felt that if Hungary challenged Soviet power they could expect
help from the USA.

Back in 1948 the Truman Doctrine had stated
that the USA would help any people fighting against communism. In practice, the
US theory of containment meant that America would only threaten force to stop
the spread of communism: countries that were already communist could expect
sympathy but no help.

Alarm in Moscow

There was an air of excitement in Hungary in
the summer of 1956. People heard the news from Poland. They wanted even more
change in Hungary. They talked about Hungary breaking away from the Soviet bloc
and becoming a neutral country. This was to much for Khrushchev. He could
accept some changes but not Hungarian neutrality. If Hungary left the Warsaw
Pact, other countries might follow. The protective buffer of friendly countries
built up by Stalin might fall apart.

The Soviet leaders tried to stop the
disturbances in Hungary by changing the leadership of the Hungarian communists.
Realising that Rakosi was extremely unpopular, the Soviet leadership forced him
to resign in July 1956. The new ruler was Erno Gero. However Gero was seen as a
Stalinist by many Hungarians and the change of leader made little difference.

On 6 October 1956, Laszlo Radk, the leading
victim of Stalinist terror, was re-buried with a state funeral. A huge crowd
turned to show their support for the memory of Radk and the idea of reform.
Further demonstrations called for the removal of Gero an the reinstatement of
the popular reformer Nagy. On 24 October

Nagy became Prime Minister. Khrushchev had
hoped that this would end the disturbances. It did not. Across the country, workers
set up revolutionary councils. They demanded a complete end to Soviet system in
Hungary. They called for free multi-party elections, a free Press and for
Hungary to leave the Warsaw Pact. Nagy agreed to accept these reforms. At this
point Khrushchev decided to invade.

The Soviet invasion

The Soviet forces reached Budapest on 4
November 1956. The Red Army forces comprised 200,000 soldiers and 2,500 tanks.
The Hungarians fought against the invaders. At least 3,000 Hungarians were
killed (some estimates are much higher). Despite Nagy's desperate appeal
neither the United Nations nor the USA did anything to help. The powerful
Soviet forces took control of Hungary and imposed a new pro-Soviet government.

After the rising

• The new communist government of Hungary was
led by a man called Janos Kadar. Under Kadar economic conditions in Hungary
gradually improved.

• The supporters of the Rising were severely
punished. Imre Nagy was executed in 1958.

• The Hungarian Uprising showed East Europeans
that they could expect no help from the USA if they rose up against Soviet
control. The US policy of 'containment' meant that the Americans would fight to
stop the spread of communism but would not interfere if a country was already
communist.

• There was a period of uneasy peace in
Eastern Europe for the next 10 years. It was not until the mid-1960s that
people in the satellite states once again challenged Soviet control. In 1968
the government of Czechoslovakia decided to develop a new form of communism
that was much more liberal than Soviet communism.

• Communists around the world were dismayed by
the way the Soviet Union used force against the Hungarian people. In Western
Europe many communists were disillusioned. In China the leaders became more
wary of Moscow.

• The invasion was a blow to the reputation of
the United Nations. It did nothing to stop an act of aggression by one member
state on another member state.